Jerry Jones
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been accused of sexually assaulting a former exotic dancer Getty

A former exotic dancer has accused the Dallas Cowboys of covering up an alleged incident of sexual assault involving owner Jerry Jones.

In the suit filed this week in Dallas County, Jana Weckerly claims that Jones assaulted her in 2009 and that his team were aware of this and covered up the incident.

According to CNN, Weckerly is seeking over $1m in "monetary relief" and the Cowboys have denied all allegations.

Attorney Levi McCathern, who is representing the team, called the allegations "completely false".

"The legal complaint is unsupported by facts or evidence of any kind," McCathern said in a written statement. "This is nothing more than an attempt to embarrass and extort Jerry Jones."

The news is the latest in a series of scandals involving cover ups and secrecy to hit the NFL.

Earlier this week, a video emerged of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City casino lift.

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It has just emerged that a law enforcement official said he sent the incriminating video to an NFL executive five months ago, yet league officers insist they did not see the violent images until this week.

The official played the Associated Press a 12-second voicemail form an NFL number on 9 April, confirming the video had arrived. A female voice can be heard to express thanks and says: "You're right. It's terrible."

The law enforcement official, speaking to the AP anonymously because of the ongoing investigation, has said he had no further communication with any NFL employees and cannot confirm whether anyone watched the video.

They were unauthorised to release the video but shared it unsolicited because they wanted the NFL to have it before deciding on Rice's punishment.

The NFL has repeatedly said it asked for but could not obtain the video of Rice hitting Palmer, who is now his wife, in February. The league says it has no record of the video, and no one in the league office had seen it until TMZ released it.

Drawing further attention to alleged cover ups in the league, boxing champion Floyd Mayweather jumped to the defence of Rice after it emerged the disgraced star would be indefinitely suspended.

Mayweather, who has been convicted for domestic abuse on multiple occasions, defended Rice's actions by adding that worse things have gone on behind closed doors in other households that never see the light of day.

"I'm trying to become a better person each and every day," he said. "No one is perfect. There is a lot of worse things that go on in other people's households also. It is just not caught on video.

"I wish Ray Rice nothing but the best."